Positive effects of acupressure bands combined with relaxation music/instructions on patients most at risk for chemotherapy-induced nausea.

Purpose: Research by our group has shown that acupressure bands are efficacious in reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea (CIN) for breast cancer patients who expect nausea, and that their effectiveness in controlling CIN can largely be accounted for by patients' expectations of efficacy, i.e., a placebo effect.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia Reduces Depression in Cancer Survivors.

Study Objectives: The current archival analyses examine the direct and indirect effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) on depression in cancer survivors.

Methods: We report on 67 cancer survivors from a 2 × 2 randomized controlled trial of CBT-I and armodafinil for insomnia, after collapsing across the noneffective study medication conditions (armodafinil/placebo) to create CBT-I (yes/no). Depression and insomnia were assessed before, during the 7-week CBT-I intervention, at postintervention, and 3 months later by the Patient Health Questionnaire and the Insomnia Severity Index, respectively.

Social Support, Insomnia, and Adherence to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia After Cancer Treatment.

Objective/background: While cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has been shown to be efficacious in treating cancer survivors' insomnia, 30-60% of individuals have difficulty adhering to intervention components. Psychosocial predictors of adherence and response to CBT-I, such as social support, have not been examined in intervention studies for cancer survivors.

Participants: Data from a randomized placebo-controlled 2 x 2 trial of CBT-I and armodafinil (a wakefulness promoting agent) were used to assess adherence.

Effects of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and armodafinil on quality of life in cancer survivors: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Purpose: Cancer-related insomnia is associated with diminished quality of life (QOL), suggesting that improvement in insomnia may improve QOL in cancer survivors. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has been shown to improve insomnia, but less is known regarding its effect on QOL and whether improvement in insomnia corresponds to improved QOL. The present analysis examines the effects of CBT-I, with and without armodafinil, on QOL both directly and indirectly through improvements of insomnia.

Nausea and disturbed sleep as predictors of cancer-related fatigue in breast cancer patients: a multicenter NCORP study.

Purpose: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prevalent and distressing side effect of cancer and its treatment that remains inadequately understood and poorly managed. A better understanding of the factors contributing to CRF could result in more effective strategies for the prevention and treatment of CRF. The objectives of this study were to examine the prevalence, severity, and potential predictors for the early onset of CRF after chemotherapy cycle 1 in breast cancer patients.

2016 updated MASCC/ESMO consensus recommendations: Anticipatory nausea and vomiting in children and adults receiving chemotherapy.

Purpose: We aimed to update the 2011 recommendations for the prevention and treatment of anticipatory nausea and vomiting in children and adults receiving chemotherapy.

Methods: The original systematic literature search was updated. Randomized studies were included in the evidence to support this guideline if they as follows: were primary studies published in a journal in full text (i.

Effects of armodafinil and cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia on sleep continuity and daytime sleepiness in cancer survivors.

Study Objectives: This study involves the analysis of a secondary outcome of a trial examining whether cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), a wake-promoting medication (armodafinil), or both results in greater improvement in prospectively assessed sleep continuity and daytime sleepiness than a placebo-alone group among a heterogeneous group of cancer survivors. Whether or not armodafinil alone, and/or when combined with CBT-I, affected adherence with CBT-I was evaluated.

Design: This study is a randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial.

Racial Differences in Information Needs During and After Cancer Treatment: a Nationwide, Longitudinal Survey by the University of Rochester Cancer Center National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program.

Before treatment, cancer patients need information about side effects and prognosis, while after treatment they need information to transition to survivorship. Research documenting these needs is limited, especially among racial and ethnic minorities. This study evaluated cancer patients' needs according to race both before and after treatment.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, but not armodafinil, improves fatigue in cancer survivors with insomnia: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Purpose: Fatigue is a prevalent, distressing side effect of cancer and cancer treatment which commonly coexists with insomnia. Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) has been shown to improve insomnia in cancer patients, but less is known about its ability to impact fatigue. This work is the analysis for a secondary aim of a four-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) study assessing the combined and comparative effect of CBT-I and a wakefulness-promoting agent, armodafinil (A), to improve sleep and daytime functioning in cancer survivors.

Buspirone for management of dyspnea in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy: a randomized placebo-controlled URCC CCOP study.

Purpose: Cancer-related dyspnea is a common, distressing, and difficult-to-manage symptom in cancer patients, resulting in diminished quality of life and poor prognosis. Buspirone, a non-benzodiazepine anxiolytic which does not suppress respiration and has proven efficacy in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder, has been suggested to relieve the sensation of dyspnea in patients with COPD. The main objective of our study was to evaluate whether buspirone alleviates dyspnea in cancer patients.

Randomized placebo-controlled trial of cognitive behavioral therapy and armodafinil for insomnia after cancer treatment.

Purpose: Insomnia is a distressing and often persisting consequence of cancer. Although cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the treatment of choice in the general population, the use of CBT-I in patients with cancer is complicated, because it can result in transient but substantial increases in daytime sleepiness. In this study, we evaluated whether CBT-I, in combination with the wakefulness-promoting agent armodafinil (A), results in better insomnia treatment outcomes in cancer survivors than CBT-I alone.

Anticipatory nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy.

As a specific variation of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV) appears particularly linked to psychological processes. The three predominant factors related to ANV are classical conditioning; demographic and treatment-related factors; and anxiety or negative expectancies. Laboratory models have provided some support for these underlying mechanisms for ANV.

Prevention of delayed nausea: a University of Rochester Cancer Center Community Clinical Oncology Program study of patients receiving chemotherapy.

Purpose: We conducted a double-blind randomized clinical trial of the following four regimens for controlling delayed nausea (DN): group 1: palonosetron + dexamethasone on day 1 with prochlorperazine on days 2 and 3; group 2: granisetron + dexamethasone on day 1 with prochlorperazine on days 2 and 3; group 3: aprepitant + palonosetron + dexamethasone on day 1 with aprepitant + dexamethasone on days 2 and 3; and group 4: palonosetron + dexamethasone on day 1 with prochlorperazine + dexamethasone on days 2 and 3.

Patients And Methods: Chemotherapy-naive patients received doxorubicin, epirubicin, cisplatin, carboplatin, or oxaliplatin. The primary end point was average nausea assessed four times daily on days 2 and 3.

Few changes observed in polysomnographic-assessed sleep before and after completion of chemotherapy.

Objective: Sleep disturbance is prevalent among patients undergoing chemotherapy and is strongly associated with cancer-related fatigue (CRF). However, little objective evidence has been gathered on the patterns of sleep before and following chemotherapy.

Methods: Twenty-six patients scheduled to receive chemotherapy were recruited.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) reduces acute chemotherapy-induced nausea: a URCC CCOP study of 576 patients.

Purpose: Despite the widespread use of antiemetics, nausea continues to be reported by over 70% of patients receiving chemotherapy.

Methods: In this double blind, multicenter trial, we randomly assigned 744 cancer patients to four arms: 1) placebo, 2) 0.5 g ginger, 3) 1.

Differential expression of cytokines in breast cancer patients receiving different chemotherapies: implications for cognitive impairment research.

Purpose: Altered levels of cytokines and chemokines may play a role in cancer- and cancer treatment-related cognitive difficulties. In many neurodegenerative diseases, abnormal concentrations of cytokines and chemokines affect neuronal integrity leading to cognitive impairments, but the role of cytokines in chemotherapy-related cognitive difficulties in cancer patients is not well understood. Patients receiving doxorubicin-based (with cyclophosphamide, or cyclophosphamide plus fluorouracil; AC/CAF) chemotherapy or cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and fluorouracil (CMF) chemotherapy report experiencing cognitive difficulties; because these regimens work by different modes of action, it is possible that they differentially affect cytokine levels.

Polarity Therapy for cancer-related fatigue in patients with breast cancer receiving radiation therapy: a randomized controlled pilot study.

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is the most frequently reported side effect of cancer and its treatment. In previous research, Polarity Therapy (PT), an energy therapy, was shown to reduce CRF in patients receiving radiation. This study reports on a small randomized clinical trial designed to collect preliminary data on the efficacy of PT compared with an active control (massage) and passive control (standard care) for CRF among cancer patients receiving radiation therapy.

A Brief Patient Self-Report Screening Measure of Cancer Treatment-Related Memory Problems: Latent Structure and Reliability Analysis.

Background: Memory can be deleteriously affected by cancer treatment. It is important to quantify these effects, to assess the effectiveness of interventions to ameliorate them, and to monitor changes in cancer patients' memories over time. However, brief and reliable screening measures of cancer treatment-related memory problems are lacking.

Assessing self-efficacy for coping with cancer: development and psychometric analysis of the brief version of the Cancer Behavior Inventory (CBI-B).

Objective: The Cancer Behavior Inventory-Brief Version (CBI-B), a 12-item measure of self-efficacy for coping with cancer derived from the longer 33-item version, was subjected to psychometric analysis.

Method: Participants consisted of three samples: 735 cancer patients from a multicenter CCOP study, 199 from central Indiana, and 370 from a national sample. Samples were mixed with respect to initial cancer diagnosis.

Anticipatory nausea and vomiting.

A commonly reported consequence of post-treatment nausea or vomiting is the development of anticipatory nausea and vomiting (ANV). In most published work, nausea is reported to occur before chemotherapy drugs are administered by approximately 20% of patients at any one chemotherapy cycle and by 25-30% of patients by their fourth chemotherapy cycle. Most studies in adult patients strongly support the view that the development of ANV involves elements of classical conditioning.

An exploratory study on the effects of an expectancy manipulation on chemotherapy-related nausea.

Context: Previous research has shown that the effectiveness of acupressure bands in reducing chemotherapy-related nausea is related to patients' expectations of efficacy.

Objective: To test whether an informational manipulation designed to increase expectation of efficacy regarding acupressure bands would enhance their effectiveness.

Methods: We conducted an exploratory, four-arm, randomized clinical trial in breast cancer patients about to begin chemotherapy.

A phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, clinical trial of the effect of modafinil on cancer-related fatigue among 631 patients receiving chemotherapy: a University of Rochester Cancer Center Community Clinical Oncology Program Research base study.

Background: Cancer-related fatigue is a debilitating symptom affecting psychosocial functioning and quality of life in 70% to 100% of cancer patients during and after treatment. The authors examined the effect of 200 mg of modafinil daily on the severity of cancer-related fatigue.

Methods: The authors conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3, clinical trial to examine the effect of modafinil on patient-reported fatigue in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

IGF-1 partially restores chemotherapy-induced reductions in neural cell proliferation in adult C57BL/6 mice.

Chemotherapeutic agents produce persistent difficulties in memory through an unknown mechanism. We tested the hypothesis that chemotherapeutic agents readily able to cross the blood-brain barrier (cyclophosphamide and fluorouracil), as opposed to those not known to readily cross the barrier (paclitaxel and doxorubicin), reduce neural cell proliferation following chemotherapy. We found that 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine labeling following chemotherapy given to C57BL/6 mice revealed a similar reduction in neural cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus for all four agents.